26/11/05
Characters: Edge, Acacia
Gedo High Entrance
Compared to the other schools in the city, Gedo looks...old. Outdated
buildings dot the campus, the colors muted and dusty. The main building takes
up the east half of campus, a large rectangular block looking almost like an
old warehouse. Built of brick with large glass windows, it carries that
industrial atmosphere that accompanies many of the buildings lining the
river. Another building lies to the west, long and narrow, though no entrance
can be seen from this side. Concrete paths lead between the buildings toward
a larger open yard to the southwest.
Despite the apparent age of the campus, there is something more. Upon
closer inspection of the buildings, they don't look all that worn out. What
paint there is is new, and very definitely not peeling. There are no cracked
windows, despite the supposed rowdiness of the Gedo students. Speaking of
whom, the campus is rarely uninhabited; students can be seen lounging about,
slouching against the walls or hanging out -atop- the walls. There's even a
few students hanging about on the rooftops, a practice which the
administrators have long since given up on trying to curb, mostly at the
behest of Daigo, who reasoned that the threat of a two-story fall will hone
those students' balancing skills. The buzz of conversation fills the air,
with the occasional shouts of students training or fighting.
Despite its poor status, Gedo High thrives. The air is filled with spirit;
not the fierce school spirit of Taiyo, but a raging, passionate spirit
tempered and honed by the careful ministrations of the teachers and Daigo
Kazama. This is not a school of delinquents, but of martial artists.
[Exits : Main Hall, Southwest to Courtyard, and Out to Gedo
Street ]
The quality of life at Gedo High can be something of a mixed bag. On the one
hand, there's plenty of violent action to be had and the excuse of delinquency
stands up in a fair number of juvenile courts across the land. Even better: this
is hardly an issue in Southtown for anything short of murder, and there /are/
various codes of honour upheld by the youthful gangsters that usually prevents
things from getting that extreme. The courses offered give just as cushy a spin
to matters, with Daigo's martial arts classes about the only 'necessary' classes
to attend. And who would miss them?
On the opposing set of fingers? Politics. Damn dirty politics. This particular
annoyance is why Eiji 'Edge' Yamada now stalks through the groups of students
hanging about the rusty buildings, flanked by two subordinates on either side,
with a determined glint in his eye. Ever a big mover in the school, he's
recently caused especially large waves thanks to his acquisition of Juli, the
organisation of that eventful large-scale street battle, and most of all...
rumours that he is somehow related to the terrorist incident that crippled Gedo
for several days. The former two are what occupies him now.
"I don't want you to interfere, hear me? She's a real feisty bitch when she's
pissed off, but this is /my/ fight. Got it?" Snarling the order to the pair of
punks at his left, Edge looks the other way pointedly to ensure none of his
tag-alongs forget who the boss is here. He means to take on the quiet-but-deadly
Acacia for her perceived crimes against his beloved school.. in particular, for
her apparent driving off of the ex-Doll so recently 'welcomed' into the gang's
ranks. "C'mon shortround, I know you're around here somewhere..."
Muttering a string of obscenities to himself and entirely ignoring his dejected
admirers, the purple punk sets about a quick patrol of Gedo's grounds, a sharp
eye trained for any sign of the plainly clad femme-tank who has so enraged him.
Plainly clad? Honestly. You don't see -Acacia- insulting Edge's fashion-sense,
do you? Well. Maybe because you can't mock what isn't there.
But in general, Acacia's a lot more restrained with her tongue. Compared to
Edge, anyway. More relaxed. Calmer. Case in point - instead of stalking round
the Gedo compound like a prowling cat, she's napping. Also like a cat, perhaps.
But a cat with better blood pressure. Arms folded to pillow her head, she
reclines on one of the benches ringing the school courtyard.
Eyes closed, enjoying the chill air. Letting the breeze faintly ruffle her hair
and clothes.
She's dressed much as she normally is. T-shirt, jeans, boots, jacket. Though her
coat, today, is an old Army-surplus jungle camo deal, sleeves rolled up.
Oddly enough, the jacket seems to have hadouken-burns on it.
Not that the blackened decorations affect Acacia's relaxed mood any.
Hey! Purple is in this year, and all the sexy girls dig it. Really.
Awesome fashion sense aside, Edge hardly experiences a difficult time in
locating Acacia, his angry pace carrying him along until he all but stumbles
over the girl's sleeping form. Stopping a short distance from her chosen bench,
his sneer slowly forms into a wide, malicious grin, arms snapping out to either
side a moment later to prevent the Gedo cronies from going to work. "I told you
punks not to touch her. Back the hell off." There's nothing but violent
excitement in his tone, and the youth pauses before shoving his hands back into
the baggy pockets of his pants, swaggering forward to stand right beside the
napping brawler.
"Wakey wakey, rise and shiiiine... daddy bought something pretty for you.
Ehehehe!" Snickering away in wonderfully crazed style, Yamada pulls a hand forth
bearing a flashing blade - one of the smaller in his collection, barely three
inches to the tip, and waggles it under Acacia's nose. There is no actual intent
to impale, he'll even go out of his way to avoid it at this point, but the
awakening should be fairly rude when coupled with the boy's staring eyes and
massive grin.
Assuming she -does- open her eyes, anyway.
Which she doesn't.
Instead, Acacia simply speaks, in a clear voice. Calm, conversational, but with
a definite icing of sarcasm.
"Five more minutes, mom," she says, not deigning to crack an eyelid.
Around the courtyard, other Gedo students have stopped their activities...to
watch the unfolding scene. And those not part of Edge's little posse...find it
hard to suppress a snicker.
And there she goes, tempting fate. Nothing like having your best-laid plans
thrown off course by the appearance of an obstacle exactly like the one Acacia
is proving herself to be. Not only making a bad situation out of something that
was just about to improve - in the process making Gedo look like a band of
wannabe idiots - but now by failing to wake up and scream like a good little
girl. This actually aggravates Edge a lot less than might be expected, but still
it prompts the faltering of his expression and the rather abrupt /slamming/ of
that small blade into the wood of the bench by Acacia's head.
"Screw that! Breakfast's on the table, bitch. Get up and eat it!" Saliva
flecking his lips as he barely holds back from screaming into the girl's
shuttered eyes, Yamada straightens up and takes a couple of steps away from the
bench, previously knife-bearing hand falling to his side where it curls slowly
into a fist. Glancing back over his shoulder, a smirk adorning his lips, Edge
continues to speak in a less psychotic tone; down at least two gears into
'quietly menacing'. "We've got business, Gillespie, and I'll teach you a lesson
if it breaks every bone in my body. No explanations, no excuses."
"Way you say that," Acacia begins, stretching slightly as she sits up, "sounds
like you -want- bones broken..."
Acacia swings her legs off the bench, standing languidly. She runs a hand
through her hair, before finally, -finally-, opening her eyes. Well, one eye,
anyway. Just a crack, peering at Edge.
A little sleepily, really.
Acacia yawns. Honestly, she's not trying to -taunt- him or anything, she really
-is- somewhat fuzzy from her nap. Not thatt Edge will believe that, of course.
Mind, Acacia isn't really inclined to disabuse him of the notion. Que sera,
sera.
She folds her arms in front of her. "...right, so?"
Edge watches the object of his anger sit up, go through her motions, and yawn.
Everything she does seems to bring extra depth to the stare he directs back at
her, his own lids lowering gradually until he observes Acacia through narrowed
slits. In a sense, it's a shame he has to resort to this; without her rogue
tendencies, the powerful little female could be quite the asset to Gedo and to
himself. The next Akira? She could have been exactly what he intended Juli to
be... almost was in this preceding week, before she turned around to go
fist-to-face with the voluptuous newbie.
"When you're /finished/," the purple punk mutters, turning around to face Acacia
and taking a moment to crack his neck to one side. A hand lifts from one pocket,
an accusing finger directed toward Edge's prey. "You're a damn good fighter,
Gillespie, the Dog trusts you and so does Daigo. But you're a snake. I dunno
what the /hell/ you were playing at last week, but you made us all look like
assholes, and I don't like that." Never mind the fact he walked off perky as
anything, or enjoyed himself like he hadn't done in months. He's had time to oil
his brain. "You scared off what coulda been the best thing to happen to Gedo
this year! I'll get her back, but first..."
Lowering his hand with a cruelly pitched 'heh', Edge kicks one white boot
against the floor, sending a cloud of dust floating into the air between him and
Acacia. "You gotta prove to me you're not a dirty little traitor. Stand up."
Acacia gives Edge an odd stare, scrunching her face up in befuddlement. If she
were more awake, she'd probably be annoyed right now. As it is, she just looks
at him funny.
"I -am- standing," she retorts, "we can't -all- be tall."
She does, though, straighten. Quitting her slouch. Rocking back on her heels,
she squints at Edge, then at the gathering of Gedo students ringing the
courtyard. Most of whom she recognises by sight, if not by name. Pfft. Great. An
audience. How wonderful.
Acacia snorts, flaring her nostrils. She doesn't seem terribly irritated,
though, just vaguely grumpy. Probably about being woken up, more than anything
else. Though the verbal interrogation does nothing for her mood.
Still, her reply to Edge is a lot more civil than the punk's questioning. Aside
from the thinly-veiled sardonic slant. "Your friend's a bitch," Acacia says,
flatly, "but whatever..."
She frowns at him, unblinking. "...proof? Fine. But only if -you- prove to me
you're worth anything."
Beat.
"Fair?"
Names? Pssh. Gedo students don't all have names - only the ones who kick the
most ass. Why, look at Edge's most faithful and their often interchanging
nicknames. Everyone has a name, and the gang leader knows the majority of those
deep down, but why bother with all that effort? Handles work much better than
officially bestowed monikers, except in the case of the worthwhile few. Heck,
Acacia's even earned the right to be called by her last name rather than a slew
of shortass jokes. Speaking of which...
"Heh!" Covering his misjudged comment with an amused grin, Edge cocks his head
to one side and peers down at Acacia with something approaching respect. It's
well masked behind his glare, but to the perceptive.. it's there. He doesn't
exactly hate the girl, or even dislike her, there's simply a stubborn
unwillingness to let this matter go and take the blame upon himself. Juli was a
big mistake and this is beginning to show in her actions, but the chance of the
brightly garbed punk /admitting/ that is quite pathetically low.
Brushing aside his change of expression to bust out with a snort and a
half-smirk at the insistence that he prove himself, Edge takes a half-step
toward Acacia, turning his skinny form side-on and extending another knife in
one hand. "Life isn't fair! But you got a deal." The extended weapon is returned
to concealment, its owner moving likewise to his former location, pausing only
to hawk aside a messy globe of saliva before a subtle shift of his shoulders
drops him into what passes for a fighting stance.
"Let's go!"
COMBATSYS: Edge has started a fight here.
COMBATSYS: Acacia has joined the fight here.
Acacia arches an eyebrow. She doesn't hate Edge, either. Mind, that doesn't mean
she -likes- him - her view of the knife-wielding ganger is simply skewed to
neutral. He's too arrogant and flamboyant for her tastes...but, conversely, he's
blunt. Almost painfully -direct-. No masks, no pretense.
And Acacia respects that. If respect is the right word.
As Edge advances, she shifts her own position to the side, boot soles scraping
across the dirt. She doesn't want to get trapped between him and the bench -
that cuts her room. So she shuffles round to where her six is clear, before
settling into her own fighting stance. Feet apart, arms raised, fingers
half-curled into fists.
"No," Acacia murmurs, "isn't fair. But it -should- be, hm?"
COMBATSYS: Acacia focuses on her next action.
Edge might be a few grapes short of a fruit salad, but his fighting instincts
are reasonably developed and his ability to reason within those is equally
reasonable. He didn't gain the mixed admirations of Gedo's student body without
proving himself in battle on a few occasions, and so when Acacia moves he notes
the manuever with a spark of rekindled excitement. This in turn reminds the punk
of just what mood he was in before having it derailed by the practically
machine-like girl, and as her question comes he's already grinning from ear to
ear once more. Politics aside, this should be fun.
"Tch! Fairness is for losers... you're losing touch if you reckon otherwise.
Taiyo squirts need the world to revolve around 'em," pausing to rummage in his
pockets for a moment, Edge seems to hang in motion for a moment before bringing
his arms forward in a dramatic sweep from within his pants. There's a loud clink
of metal, and then a building shriek of the same - that tooth raking sound we
all love to hate - that raises in volume as he finishes his speech with a
jubilant cry. "/We/ make it move for /us/!"
Suddenly all that metallic clamour seems justified, as from the extended palms
of Yamada comes a massive hailstorm of cutlery. Knives, switchblades, jagged
hunks of sharpened iron, everything he's ever shown to have carried about on a
daily basis, all comes screaming out toward Acacia in the space of a few
seconds. Potentially rather painful, even aside from the shriek that finally
reaches a crescendo accompanied by the boy's laughter. "Ehehehehe-AHAHAHAHAHA!"
COMBATSYS: Acacia endures Edge's Strike Out.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Acacia 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Edge
Acacia's left eye -twitches-, visibly, as she watches Edge produce an array of
weaponry that'd give airport security -fits-. Insane foaming-at-the-mouth fits.
A little detatched portion of her mind immediately begins speculating just HOW
he manages to fit all that in his pants.
Even as she does, though, she begins to move. Almost instinctively. Throwing
herself forward, into the hailstorm. Flashing steel slices through her coat,
drawing thin streaks of blood. More cuts decorate her legs, fresh lines of red
even drawing themselves across her face. But that doesn't stop her forward
motion.
She snaps her arm round, muscles tensing.
While her mind continues its silent speculation. How does he keep all that...in
his PANTS?
Acacia gives voice to her question, even as she forms a fist and attempts to
introduce her knuckles to Edge's gut.
"Whatever. The HELL you fit all THAT in your pants...without cutting off Mister
Happy?"
COMBATSYS: Edge blocks Acacia's Strong Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Acacia 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Edge
"-HAHAHAha... ha... heh!" Edge grins openly at Acacia, fuelled by his passion
for bloodletting and propelled into near-delerium by the mania contained within
his laughter. The girl's question is one he doesn't get asked all that often,
mainly thanks to the opponents left lying in pools of their own blood after such
an assault, but he comes well equipped for it. "What can I say? I share a bond
with metal! Hehehe!" The punishing fist is met with a twist of the blonde
gangster's body, right leg raising tensed to catch the blow while his hands busy
themselves preparing to thrust back into his pockets.
"Ngh." He staggers from the force all the same, barely avoiding going into a
full circle spin. Acacia's as strong as he always suspected. "And I share that
bond... with Edge Junior..." Accompanying the last with the thrusting forth of
his tongue, waggling it obscenely as he swats the extended fist away with his
right hand, the left now back in his pants. After making their defence, in
tandem with the retracting of his tongue, Edge's fingers reach out to get a
grasp on Acacia's mussed hair.
"Go fly!" Provided he makes the grip, the purple punk drops into a low step
forward, past his opponent's flank as he attempts to drag her with him
subsequently - wrenching upon those silver strands with intent to hurl her
bodily away to the cement.
COMBATSYS: Acacia fails to counter Medium Throw from Edge with Icon of Stone.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Acacia 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Edge
[OOC] Acacia laughs. I've been having terrible luck with the CSYS lately -
probably retribution for my run of victories.
Acacia hits, and -bounces-, before coming to an awkward halt in the dust.
Growling, she levers herself to her feet, trying to ignore her aching body. And
her aching scalp, for that matter. Not that she has any philosophical or moral
objection to dirty fighting...she just doesn't appreciate it being used on
-her-.
"Cute," Acacia spits, "hope it burns whenever you take a piss."
She wouldn't normally be -quite- so caustic with her comments. Heck, mostly
Acacia isn't inclined towards mid-fight banter at all. But for Edge, she'll make
an exception.
Wincing, Acacia settles back into a rough fighting stance. He's fast. Faster
than she expected. She didn't manage to escape that little throw before he slung
her earthward, despite her best efforts.
Bah. Just have to hit him harder, then.
Edge is only too pleased to see he's having an effect upon the usually
unshakeable Acacia, and on releasing his cruel grip his hand is immediately
thrust back into his pocket as the boy tosses back his head and laughs. It's
short, barking and less crazed than his prior offering. "HAH!" Grinning as he
lowers his gaze back to the recovering girl, he pauses only to idly wriggle his
shoulders - setting his outfit a little more comfortably after all that movement
- before starting forward at a brisk stridde. "Ever read history books,
Gillespie? There's nothin' you can do to stop this..."
Regardless of the huge gaping wound in his logic, the last 'history book' he
read being an old issue of 2000AD, Edge quickens his pace to break into a
three-step sprint for his prey. "THIS IS JUSTICE!" Screaming the words with an
unnatural zeal, the brighty clad punk whips a foot up at the last instant to
catch Acacia with a punting kick to the jaw, Yamada's body lifting off the floor
with the force of the motion.
COMBATSYS: Acacia counters Medium Strike from Edge with Icon of Stone.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Acacia 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Edge
Acacia's a lot more honest than Edge. To herself, and to others. Which explains
her retort, delivered with a liberal amount of raw vehemence.
"Don't like to read," she replies.
And as she speaks, she moves. When Edge kicks, she -twists- round, an elbow
blurring to meet Edge's leg with the crack of bone-meeting-bone. Deflecting the
strike...by attacking his kick.
Mind, she wasn't exactly telling the whole story, there. Acacia -would- like to
read, if she didn't have so much trouble with the actual process of scanning
words on a page. The whole language thing has always been a struggle for her.
Having someone allude to it, albeit indirectly, just makes her bristle even
more.
And -that- explains the glare she shoots Edge, as she takes a step back.
"'cides. We're Gedo, not Justice. Forget?"
Give as you receive. An eye for an eye, pain for pain.
Something Edge can appreciate in others than himself, and as his fiery gaze
watches Acacia's motion away from his kick there is once more just a small spark
of respect. There's nothing he hates more than someone who can't put up a fight;
it extracts all the joy from battle, and while the resulting blood and victory
is something he can be proud of, there can be no shaking the slightly hollow
feeling of a one-sided scuffle. This time, he gets so much more.
"SHIT!" Spinning around his numbed limb, to crash heavily onto one shoulder, the
psychopathic gangster takes a moment to let fly a stream of curses before rising
with a noticeable tendency toward favouring his left leg. He actually staggers a
moment, a hand clasped in annoyance to his thigh as he meets Acacia's glare with
an angry snarl. "You upstart little bitch.. I remember just fine! We'll see how
you remember when I string your gnarled corpse over their gates! SYAAA!" Not
that the punk would really kill anybody - they'd have to piss him off quite
immensely - but talking smack in a fight never hurt anyone.
Throwing knives occasionally do however, and with an underarm pitch from his
'free' hand, Edge gives his opponent exactly such a thing to be dealing with
while he massages life back into his leg. Yes. Apparently, he has /more/ of
those...
COMBATSYS: Acacia negates Thrown Object from Edge with Thrown Object.
"Enh," Acacia replies, scowling, "people always threaten to kill me."
Honestly, they do. It's almost a weekly event, really, what with all the
psychopathic murderers, terrorists, and cultists running around. Acacia's long
since decided that being a fighter automatically creates some sort of supreme
weirdness field that attracts that kind of shit. She's tried telling people
about this, but nobody takes her ideas seriously.
Meaning Edge's threat doesn't really faze her. Heck, she seems more disappointed
than anything else. Can't people be more -creative-? Supressing a sigh, Acacia
squints at the incoming blade, judging the distance. Then she snaps a leg round,
dropping her body, delivering a fast sweep kick to the dust. An odd move, given
the circumstances.
But perhaps not so strange, considering the number of knives and pointy metal
objects Edge left scattered on the ground from their initial exchange of blows.
More than enough to fly skyward as Acacia knocks 'em airborne, forming an
impromptu shield of clattering steel.
Knife meets...lotsof other knifey-debris.
"Feh," Acacia mumbles.
"Well, isn't this nice?" Edge croons from behind the dissipating cloud of dust,
lifting his voice enough to be heard over the clatter of falling blades.
Watching his quarry through the entire process, he keeps his uncurled fingers
extended, lightly twirling them in the air before beginning to lower his arm.
"Don't worry, Gillespie, I'd never actually /kill/ you. If you can't offer me
good reason why you did what you did, I'll make sure you're kept alive forever -
in burning agony..." Pause. "Maybe a pretty little pair of knickers too."
Smirking, Edge thrusts his hand back into his pocket with a dull clink. That
telltale sound of a metallic object shifting about greets Acacia's ears shortly
before her less-than-sane schoolmate dashes forward, both hands deeply buried.
On closing the inconsiderable distance between them, he brings his left foot up
to feint a kick toward her midsection, before hurling his fell weight over that
injured right leg - pain lending passion to his incoherent scream - and lashing
a fist out in a haymaking arc "SEIYAAAH!"
Never mind the glint of punishing brass about his knuckles.
COMBATSYS: Acacia blocks Edge's Fierce Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Acacia 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Edge
"Yeah, yeah," Acacia growls, "we'll talk. -After-."
After we're done kicking the living crap out of each other, is what Acacia
means...but she's not really one for complete sentences. Takes too long. Breath
and time are both at a premium when purple-clad punks are coming at you with
brass in their hands and fire in their eyes. Acacia's got other things, more
important things, to worry about.
She doesn't flinch, doesn't react, to Edge's feint. But she -does- move when the
real blow comes blasting in. Raising a forearm to block, catching the renforced
punch on tensed muscles. The impact sends a jarring shock down her arm, but she
grits her teeth and holds her ground.
Even as she brings her other arm up, thrusting a white-knuckled fist at Edge's
jaw...while they're still locked in close proximity.
COMBATSYS: Acacia successfully hits Edge with Quick Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Acacia 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Edge
"NGH!" The blow that comes in response strikes Edge hard, snapping his head
back, the unbidden exclamation coming forceful enough to fleck the boy's lips
with saliva. Acacia certainly doesn't disappoint when it comes to meeting the
expectant standard, fulfilling everything her reputation would suggest - and to
think she seemed like such a walkover a moment ago. Her judge and jury isn't put
off though, beginning to cackle with something approaching glee, keeping his
head thrust back for a moment before suddenly hammering it forward in mid-laugh,
turning the sound into a scream of violent intent.
"SCREW YOU!" Of course, in pausing to posture like a serial killer, the brightly
dressed gangster gave his prey plenty of time to scarper away. But all the
better should she be struck - she'll have something to truly be embarassed
about, and the attack fails to end with the crack of skull against skull.
Gripping the girl by the scruff of her neck, Edge pulls himself back and ducks
down low, hauling Acacia over his shoulder to pitch her down onto the
weapon-strewn battleground.
COMBATSYS: Acacia fails to interrupt Strong Throw from Edge with Quick Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Acacia 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Edge
That, Acacia reflects, grumpily, hurt.
She kicks her way out of Edge's grasp, rolling away from her very
-uncomfortable- landing. A couple of knivees actually sticking in her, as she
rises to her feet. Working her neck from side to side, Acacia grumbles. Despite
her best efforts, she wasn't able to stop him from throwing her around like a
rag doll. And she -really- doesn't like feeling helpless.
Acacia gives Edge a -look-.
"Screw you? Nah," Acacia snaps, "not my type."
After pitching Acacia to the floor, Edge straightens up with a huge, shit-eating
grin. The youth's teeth are bared and breath comes in hisses between them as he
backs off a few paces, visibly shaking with excited adrenaline. Bright eyes rake
the dimunitive female as she rises to her feet, and her comment draws forth a
brief giggle from the Gedo liuetenant. His arms lift to either side as he gives
a flamboyant shrug. "Can't win 'em all, Gillespie! Besides... I respect my own.
I'll leave you to the Dog." Grin degraded to a smirk, he drops one hand back to
his pocket as he delivers the last. Yeah, he's been keeping an ear out.
"But let's talk afterward, eh?" Making a few quick adjustments to his collar,
Edge begins to stroll forward at an almost amiable pace, getting in reasonably
close to Acacia before making an exaggerated sidestep and then lunging in, hand
darting from its hiding place to catch her with a sliver of sharpened steel
across the flank, "Ehehehe!"
COMBATSYS: Acacia endures Edge's Medium Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Acacia 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Edge
Acacia flushes, cheeks turning faintly red. Quite an accomplishment, considering
the fact she's got naturally dark skin. The comment about leaving her to Jiro,
yeah. It hits home, and the faint surge of laughter from the watching Gedo
students doesn't exactly help.
She bites her lip, forcing down the retort, instead slitting her eyes at Edge.
Acacia stands her ground, not budging as the knife-wielding punk slams toward
her. She doesn't bat an eyelid as his blade travels through her heavy jacket,
fibers parting beneath the steel. Doesn't make a sound, as the tip slashes
through cloth and flesh, drawing fresh blood.
"Yeah," Acacia grinds out, "-talk."
But for now, it's body language she communicates with. As she takes all the
anger, embarassment, raw emotion...and forces it -through- a powerful filter.
Chi, spiritual energy, surges from within her lean form, blasting through tense
muscles...
...releasing in -all directions-. It's not a fireball, not any sort of glowing
energy. Just a shockwave that makes the air shimmer. A spherical blast of pure,
unadulterated, extremely CONCUSSIVE force that tears a crater in the ground, a
radius spanning a dozen feet...dust and discarded weapons flying to all points
of the compass. A blast with Acacia at its heart, and Edge as its target.
COMBATSYS: Acacia successfully hits Edge with Irresistible Force.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Acacia 0/-------/-------|=======\======-\1 Edge
Edge almost gives a jubilant giggle as he feels the honed point of his weapon
dig into warm flesh. Almost. There are only two things that stop him; first, the
nagging feeling that something was a little /wrong/ about that last strike, as
though some conspiracy on Acacia's part has led him directly into a trap. Second
is the devastating explosion of force that overwhelms the purple punk before he
can form any kind of reaction. He fails even to oversell this strike, has no
chance to revel within the impact of pain as he's tossed backward along with the
myriad knives scattered around the combatants.
WHUMP. Edge's passage is halted abruptly as he finds himself slung against a
pile of wooden slats propped by the school wall, at least saving him the
back-breaking impact of brick. But the damage done is enough, especially coupled
as it is by the subsequent arrival of a horde of shiny things, which dig into
Yamada's skin and even manage to pin him up against the flimsy wood. His own
bladed objects digging into that beloved outfit and his less-important flesh.
"...shit..."
Lacking the usual weight of delivery, the conclusion to that veritable energy
bomb comes a few moments after impact, when the shock has worn off. Not that it
has even then, and Edge seems curiously withdrawn as he gives a cringe, pulling
himself away from his situation with a wrench of his shoulders. Various items
hit the ground along with him, as he lands in a crouch and begins to almost
unconsciously pick at the weapons adorning his body. "...bitch..." Standing up
slowly, he focuses on Acacia through bloodshot eyes before suddenly, it all
seems to come back at once.
"Heh! Nice shot, shortround! Ehehehehehe!" With the giggle comes one more thing,
the ultimate reaction to all of this. Throbbing arms are thrust forward with the
clank of all those metallic objects, iron and steel all channeled into a massive
onslaught from opened palms. Perhaps the forceful girl will recognise a similar
manuever from earlier, though this time there are notably less items but notably
more intent to harm. "NO CIGAR!!"
All systems: engage!
COMBATSYS: Edge successfully hits Acacia with Strike Out.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Acacia 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Edge
Acacia sets her jaw, mouth settling into a thin line, as the wave of steel
crashes over her body, breaking through her feeble attempt to block. She's
beginning to tire, all the injuries she's sustained...well, they add up.
Bleeding, battered, she glares through a haze of pain at Edge. Doing her level
best to ignore the -new- collection of knife wounds decorating her shredded and
bloodied clothing.
"Yeah," she growls, taking a deep breath, "bite me."
COMBATSYS: Acacia focuses on her next action.
"Bite you?" Edge echoes as he lowers his hands, a wide dirty grin smeared across
his lips and the shine of pure ectasy in his eye. Battered and bruised,
spattered in blood and with more left to give? He's in his element, and Acacia's
words only enhance the situation, cause a fresh thrill to surge through the
crazy youth's veins. "Ehehe... if you insist!" Dropping down low, predatory, to
the ground, he watches Acacia for a moment as he draws in a few deep breaths and
then...
Yamada is on the move, launching himself forward with an application of force
from both hands, sprinting the distance toward Acacia before stopping at the
last moment and flinging himself into a leaping forward somersault. Turning once
in the air - skinny form tucked in almost impossibly tightly - he extends
himself back out before aiming to clamp his gnashers down upon the girl's arm.
"RRRGH!"
Frothing madly, Edge delivers exactly as requested, gnashing his teeth up and
down with reckless abandon - enough to cause sizeable dents in the flesh though
it's hardly likely to punish to the extent of a tossed blade or a knuckle-dusted
punch. He'll chow down for a few moments before letting go and dropping back
into a crouch nearby, still Cheshire'ing from ear to ear. Unhinged much?
COMBATSYS: Acacia counters Light Kick from Edge with Icon of Stone.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Acacia 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 Edge
Damnit, she didn't mean for him to take it -literally-.
A faint look of disgust crosses Acacia's face as Edge latches hold and begins
-gnawing- on her arm, like something out oof a bad cartoon. She's too shocked to
flail, and in fact, only manages to do so -after- Edge leaps back. A few flecks
of saliva beading the air.
But she wasn't surprised enough to...-not- prepare.
Edge probably notices this right off the bat. That chewing on Acacia was like
trying to bite through steel rebar. Those aren't just hardened muscles, they're
-ing -RENFORCED-. With chi and sheer blooddy-mindedness. Though her sleeve is
shredded, beneath lies unbroken skin. Not even teeth marks.
And, shuddering in revulsion, Acacia darts forward, aiming a powerful kick to
Edge, just as he lands in a crouch.
"BAD DOG! NO BISCUIT!"
Mmm mm! If Edge didn't have his mouth full, he would be throwing out some highly
embarassing comment about learning exactly what it is Jiro sees in the girl.
Though he'd be lying - she tastes like sweat and treachery, all bundled up
inside a wound ball of cast iron. There is the slim possibility that he is
imagining the second part... but 'cast iron' is certainly about right, and on
coming to a short distance off, he's ill prepared to be caught by one
mother-lover of a kick. Giving off a yelp much like a wronged canine,
high-pitched and perfect for drawing sympathy from cute girls, he's slung back
onto the concrete and bounces off his skull before coming around in a crouch
once more.
"...jeez, Gillespie," he manages through the crimson wells between his teeth,
lifting a hand to brush away these miniature slicks of blood, mainly succeeding
in smearing red lines across his cheek. "Do you treat all your mutts like this?"
Grin. Huge, cocky, bastard of a grin. No prizes for guessing which particular
Dog he's implying. Stuffing his hands into his pants and remaining in his tight
crouch, Edge seems inclined not to do anything more for a moment - collecting
himself and... maybe preparing a little surprise, to judge by the movement of
rummaging fingertips inside his pockets.
COMBATSYS: Edge takes a breather.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Acacia 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 Edge
Acacia eyes Edge. Warily. She's seen the guy pull more crap out of his pockets
than Felix the Cat and his Magical Bag. Like some kind of demented magician on
crack. With a weapons locker instead of a top hat, and a Ginsu showroom instead
of a rabbit.
So, you probably can forgive Acacia for being...a little reluctant to approach
Edge. But then again, it's not like she can stand here and -wait- for him to
attack her. That's dumb too.
All that plays out on Acacia's face...before she sets herself, reaching a
decision. She snorts, then, before saying dryly: "At least -he's- housebroken."
She'll be mortified later. Right now, she's rushing toward Edge, feet skidding
in the dust as she swerves...one knee rocketing towards his skull.
COMBATSYS: Edge blocks Acacia's Heavy Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Acacia 0/-------/-----==|=======\==-----\1 Edge
*whump*
"Hehehe!"
A combination of sounds that most assuredly cannot be good, as Acacia's rocket
blast of a knee strike seems to impact briefly with flesh. However, to the naked
eye of any onlooker short of the most analytical fighter, the seemingly
suceessful blow is seemingly nothing. At all. Only a puff of rising dust billows
about the leg of the diminutive brawler, and there is no sign whatsoever of her
unpredictable opponent, at least.. this is the case for the space of a single
heartbeat.
Then with a flash of metal in sunlight, Edge appears standing directly behind
the recovering Acacia, a self-content smirk on his lips and an intent gleam in
his narrowed eyes. In a single, almost lethargic motion he slips a hand from
inside his pocket, bearing a long Bowie knife which is slipped into warm flesh a
fraction of an instant later. Once the blade is hammered home, time seems to
speed up once again, as with a vicious jerk the youth pulls it outward to
freedom at a most painful angle, staggering away from his opponent with the
motion.
"SURPRISE!"
COMBATSYS: Edge successfully hits Acacia with Sneak Attack.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\ < > /////// ]
Acacia 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Edge
Acacia swears. Violently. Incoherently. Loudly. Oh, very, -very- loudly. Her
voice all but echoing off the school walls. She's pissed, oh so -very- pissed.
And in pain, too, can't forget the pain. Acacia certainly isn't, not anytime
soon, not after being run through like -that-.
Blood oozes from the jagged wound on her back, soaking through the green-brown
camo pattern of her coat. She stumbles, swaying, barely remaining upright. Hell,
barely staying -conscious-.
Crap, crap, -crap-.
She snaps her head up, eyes locking on Edge.
And somehow, she finds it in herself to move. One foot, first, arcing in the
dust, her balance shifting. Then the other, as she pushes herself toward him,
like a sprinter rising from the blocks. Her arms come together, one hand bracing
the other, her forearms joining into a solid bar of bone. With an elbow as the
attacking element, aimed...for Edge's throat.
COMBATSYS: Acacia successfully hits Edge with Mass Driver.
[ \\\ < > / ]
Acacia 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Edge
Once he's pulled the blade free, Edge recovers from his violently shifted
momentum with a pleased little 'heh!', flashing gaze turned to his nearby
cronies who are watching with teeth clenched, knuckles white as fists are tensed
in excitement. Whatever the outcome, this has been one /hell/ of a fight for the
Gedo students to observe, and it still doesn't quite seem over - if anything,
there is a vigour within the purple-clad youth that surpasses what he was
showing only a few moments ago. But.. Acacia hits HARD...
"Grkh!" The sound that greets her this time is far more satisfactory, as a
piercing elbow strike finds a succulent throat to plow into, Edge turning around
barely in time to meet the incoming bundle of feminine rage. Let alone react to
it. However, even as bloody saliva wells up from his throat to dribble slowly
down his chin, the nutjob is conjuring up another manic grin. There's barely the
windpipe left to giggle with but he tries, managing a sickeningly wet gurgle as
he reaches out with both arms to encircle Acacia in a dangerous embrace.
Dangerous indeed. If he can get a grip before she finds strength to pull away,
Edge aims to leap clean off his feet, curling backward and dragging the little
tank with him to introduce her skull into a messy collision with the concrete
below. It's all he has left, and he'll probably black out for a moment should he
succeed... but he has to try, FOR JUSTICE.
COMBATSYS: Edge can no longer fight.
COMBATSYS: Acacia counters Brainbuster from Edge with Unyielding Stance.
[ \\ <
Acacia 1/-------/=======|
The sound of bone meeting concrete. Hard enough to -spiderweb- the ground in
cracks, hard enough to send little chips of shattered earth spinning through the
air. Kicking up a cloud of dust to accompany the incredible shock.
And the sound of Acacia swearing.
She squirms free of Edge's grasp - probably not too difficult a task, owing as
to how the Gedo punk's probably just about unconscious by now. She gives him a
little kick as she rolls away...not enough to really hurt, just enough to
emphasise her displeasure.
Then she rises, in a crouch, one knee against the ground, her other leg propping
her up. And runs a hand through her hair, brushing concrete dust from her scalp.
A scalp that looks...entirely unharmed, from that little encounter.
Acacia exhales. Channeling chi to absorb the shock...wasn't the easiest thing,
especially in her fatigued state. But she -managed- it, and that's all that
counts. Hauling herself fully to her feet, she glares at Edge...making sure he's
not getting up. Then she turns on a heel, and begins trudging back to the school
building. The gym, actually.
The crowd of onlookers parts for her, as Acacia growls, "Gonna take a -shower-.
We talk -later-."
COMBATSYS: Acacia has ended the fight here.
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